Ottawa will Host Habs in 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic

Historic Rivals to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of First-Ever NHL Games Played

USAToday Sports Images

The 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic™, featuring the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, will take place Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, the National Hockey League (NHL®) announced today. The outdoor game will pay tribute to a century of NHL® contests, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the League’s first games played on Dec. 19, 1917. The announcement of the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic™ was made in Ottawa, continuing the year-long NHL® Centennial festivities while Canada celebrates 150 years of Confederation, and the Stanley Cup® – the most revered trophy in all sports – celebrates its 125th anniversary.

Since Dec. 19, 1917, there have been 54,004 regular-season NHL® games played (through March 16, 2017). The first night in League history included a contest between the original Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens at Dey’s Arena in Ottawa. The game resulted in a 7-4 win for the Canadiens, with Joe Malone scoring five of Montreal’s seven goals.

“By bringing the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens together, outdoors at Lansdowne Park, we recreate – and reimagine – a match-up of founding NHL franchises who launched 100 years of remarkable history for our League and our fans,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “The 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classicwill serve as another signature event in our Centennial celebration, will set the stage for the next 100 years of NHL excitement and will contribute a unique sports moment to Canada’s sesquicentennial.”

This matchup marks the first outdoor game the Senators have hosted. Ottawa made its first appearance in a regular-season outdoor NHL game at the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™ at BC Place in Vancouver, a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

“Ottawa is the home of the Stanley Cup and 100 years ago our Senators played their first NHL game to help give rise to the greatest professional hockey league in the world,” said Ottawa Senators Owner and Chairman Eugene Melnyk. “Hockey has deep and revered roots here in the nation’s capital. Our team and our fans are exceptionally honored to play host to an NHL outdoor game this December that will cap off the League’s year-long Centennial celebrations.”

The Canadiens will be making their fourth appearance in a regular-season outdoor NHL game. Montreal is 2-1-0 in three prior outdoor contests, most recently defeating the Boston Bruins, 5-1, at the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

“We are proud and honored to have been selected to take an active part in the NHL’s Centennial festivities and the celebration surrounding the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. This outdoor game in the nation’s capital between two of the League’s longest established franchises will be an event for fans in both cities to enjoy as the 100-year-old rivalry between the two clubs reaches a new level. For our players and our fans, this match-up will be yet another chapter in NHL history,” said Canadiens president and CEO Geoff Molson.

Additional details about the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic™, including broadcast and ticketing information, will be announced in the coming months.

“Scotiabank is thrilled to celebrate both the NHL’s Centennial and Canada’s 150th birthday as the title sponsor of the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic in Ottawa this December. It is an honor for Scotiabank to deepen our partnership with the NHL with another iconic hockey match-up in celebration of these milestones,” said Carole Chapdelaine, Senior Vice-President for the Quebec/Eastern Ontario Region at Scotiabank. “Hockey matters to Scotiabank because it matters to Canadians. We are proud to support hockey at all levels in Canada, as the official bank of the NHL since 2007 and as the proud sponsor of over 8,000 kids’ community hockey teams across the country.”

“I’m extremely proud to welcome the NHL100 Classic to Ottawa in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the very first NHL game, which took place in the nation’s capital in 1917. Holding this outdoor game has been a dream since we started planning our Ottawa 2017 celebrations,” said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. “I know I speak for the millions of hockey fans across Canada and in our city when I say there is no better way to honor our national sport during such a historic year.”

Today’s Senators and Canadiens feature some of the top talent in the NHL. Ottawa is led by four-time All-Star and two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson as well as forwards Mark Stone and Kyle Turris. Karlssonleads NHL defensemen in assists (50) and is second among blue liners in points (63) this season. Montreal counters with Carey Price, Max Pacioretty and Shea Weber. Weber ranks second among NHL defensemen in goals (16), while Price ranks seventh in wins (31) for goaltenders this season.

“The players on the Canadiens and Senators are excited to take their game outside for the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa,” said Chris Campoli, NHLPA Divisional Player Representative. “It will be a great opportunity in December for the fans and the players alike to celebrate the NHL’s 100th anniversary and Canada’s 150th with a spectacle of the Canadian national winter sport.”

Since 1992, the Senators and Canadiens have faced off 131 times during the regular season and have each earned 63 wins, with Montreal holding a four-point edge in the head-to-head series (MTL: 63-52-16, 142 points, OTT: 63-56-12, 138 points). Ottawa has won both contests between the teams thus far this season, posting a 4-3 shootout victory on Oct. 15 and 4-3 regulation win on Nov. 22. The Senators and Canadiens meet three more times in 2016-17: March 18, 19 and 25 before the Stanley Cup® Playoffs begin. The two clubs have also played each other twice in the Stanley Cup® Playoffs – in 2013 and in 2015 – splitting their two series.